Combating child labor violations
- DOL assessed $55,000 in penalties against a Florida construction company for employing a 15-year-old who was seriously injured in a fall.
- OSHA initially investigated the accident, assessing penalties against the employer for lack of fall protection requirements.
- When determining that the injured worker was a minor, OSHA notified DOL’s Wage and Hour division of the situation, prompting the second investigation.
- DOL determined that the company had misclassified a number of workers as independent contractors.
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Religious colony death didn’t violate rules
- The death of a worker at his South Dakota religious colony’s farm caused by an entrapment accident in a corn grain bin didn’t violate OSHA rules.
- The worker was a colony member, not an employee working under OSHA’s guidelines, an administrative law judge ruled.
- The decision released will be reviewed by the full US Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, which could reverse the judge’s conclusion.
- In his order vacating the citations and $7,802 fine against Poinsett Hutterian Brethren Inc., the judge considered testimony that showed none of the 58 church/colony members received any money for their work.
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Oregon wants tougher penalties
- Lawmakers in Oregon introduced legislation that would significantly increase civil penalties for safety violations that contribute to worker injuries and deaths.
- S.B. 592 calls for fines of $50,000 to $250,000 if a willful or repeated violation caused or contributed to a worker’s death.
- For a serious violation involving a death, penalties would range from $20,000 to $50,000.
- For willful or repeat violations not involving death, Oregon OSHA could impose fines from $9,753 to $136,532.
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Miner drowns in pond
- A miner was killed in an industrial accident after the excavator he was operating became submerged in a pond in St. Lucie County, Florida.
- Deputies responded to an industrial accident at Vulcan Materials, off Range Line Road in Port St. Lucie.
- The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said on March 15, deputies responded to an industrial accident at Vulcan Materials, off Range Line Road in Port St. Lucie.
- When deputies arrived, they found a large excavator submerged in a pond and the site was too unstable to begin recovery efforts.
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